mfield16 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I purchased (through work) 4 LED light strips that are 12" long each. Each strip has 18 LED's. 2 Strips are 460nm blue, and 2 are 6500k white. Each LED is 60 milliwatts, and every 3 LEDs is 9-11 lumens. My question is, on a 15g Column tank, what corals can I successfully keep? Link to comment
pwreef Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 You can successfully keep....fish. :-) You need a lot more power than that to keep corals. These strips are for general lighting, not reef tanks. Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 I was afraid of that answer... I have a few corals but they are not really growing, figured the light had a lot to do with that. Could I add more of the strips or would that be useless. There are not many options for lighting this tank appropriately. Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 get a par bulb I would have to go topless with a PAR bulb, which the GF would not like much at all. Plus my fish would be eating cat hair on a daily basis Would a PAR bulb be adequate on such a tall tank (think it's 18" tall)? Link to comment
Squared Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 possibly. all tanks should have a cover of some sort since all fish will jump. Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 possibly. all tanks should have a cover of some sort since all fish will jump. Agreed. Clowns are not known for jumping but better safe than sorry. All I have is clowns. I could DIY some kind of PVC frame with wide mesh screen, and look into these PAR bulbs. Do you recommend anyrhing in particular? Link to comment
pwreef Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 My clown jumped. Now I have a mesh top on my rimless from bulkreefsupply. Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 My clown jumped. Now I have a mesh top on my rimless from bulkreefsupply. That's perfect. I wonder if HD has anything I could use that won't have to ship. I know they have the DIY screen kits. So PAR38 or more expensive LED (creed, etc,) are my only options it looks like. Any recommendations on PAR bulbs and how many I would need? Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 Would a 12W PAR38 bulb be enough to grow softies, possibly SPS down the road? Link to comment
TheDrunkenClam Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Let me ask you this....what kind of a budget are we talking about here? Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 Let me ask you this....what kind of a budget are we talking about here? Ohhh.... Let's say $100 with a fixture that will clip to the side of the tank. I like this clamp, just don't know where to get it (haven't searched hard yet) http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAR38-LED-20k-FULL...=item2ec05364d4 Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 What degree optics would I want with this size tank? I don't want any kind of spotlighting. A nice, even coverage is what I am after. I have looked at the BoostLED , LEDTRiC Tri-Color, and Ecoxotic 18w TriColor. Which is the best? Link to comment
mfield16 Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 You guys are too slow Went with the reef breeders PAR38. Paid at 3:08, got shipping confirmation at 3:14pm. Can't wait. http://www.reefbreeders.com/par_38_leds.html Link to comment
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